Agent Flies-In For Talks With Arsenal Over Deal For £54m-Rated Hitman

The summer transfer window is in full swing so we’ll bring you all the latest transfer rumours and gossip from around the globe. Today, Arsenal step-up their interest in Mauro Icardi…

The agent of Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi is expected to arrive in London this week to hold talks with Arsenal over a potential deal for the £54m-rated South American, according to Calciomercato.

Arsene Wenger is on the look out for a new striker to compete with Olivier Giroud this season and has been searching the market after missing out on Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy back in June.

While the likes of Alexandre Lacazette has been strongly linked with a move to the Emirates in recent weeks, Icardi has also been touted as a potential target by the media amid uncertainties over the Argentinean’s future at Inter Milan.

The striker has been in lengthy negotiations with the San Siro club over a contract extension but with the two parties struggling to find an agreement, TeamTalk reported last weekend that Icardi’s agent, and wife, Wanda Nara was due to hold talks with Arsenal about a potential move to England.

It appears the meeting has now been arranged as Italian outlet Calciomercato claims today that Wanda Nara is expected to arrive in London either today or on Friday and plans to hold talks with Arsenal during her week-long stay in the capital as she tries to resolve Icardi’s future.

The newspaper suggests that our interest is ‘serious’ but key to any potential deal is whether the footballer and his family are prepared to leave Italy and start a new life here in England.

However, we face stiff competition for his signature as the Italian news outlet says that Napoli are ready to offer £54m (€65m) for Icardi so we’ll have to match that bid if we want to stand a chance of signing him this summer.

I personally don’t think Wenger will sanction such an offer for the 23-year-old as Lacazette is a more attainable target given that the French international is understood to be available at nearer £40m.

Icardi has scored 52 goals in 102 appearances for Inter while Lacazette has 54 in his last 84 appearances for Lyon, so I just don’t see the boss being willing to spend another £14m on the Argentinean this summer.

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